When God says, "Do it My way."

There are a lot of versions of the Holy Bible available these days.  A person must be careful, because not all of them are correct.  Stay away from so-called translations done by one person, or a small group of persons, especially if they are for the purpose of furthering their viewpoint or that of just one denomination, group, or cult.  It is best to use translations that are the work of a group of biblical scholars.  Also, it is best to avoid versions that are predominantly or entirely paraphrased rather than translated.

The New American Standard Bible (NASB) relies primarily on word-for-word translation from the surviving source documents.  The New King James Version (NKJV) keeps the elegant literary style of the King James Version (KJV), but it replaces archaic language with modern terms for clarity.  It is a new translation, not just an updated KJV, that is primarily word-for-word.  The New International Version (NIV) is a combination of word-for-word and idea-for-idea translation. The New Living Translation (NLT) is a translation, not a paraphrase, but it relies more heavily on idea-for-idea translation.  The NLT, and the more recent editions of the NIV, have deviated from the surviving source documents by rendering some passages gender neutral.

When you read this you may wonder what I am doing and why I am doing it.  As usual, there is more than one reason.  I am trying to show that it is helpful to read a particular passage in more than one translation.  It aids our understanding of difficult passages, and it may keep us from being unduly influenced by a particular point of view.  In all, we should always pray for the help of the Holy Spirit to correctly interpret God’s Word.

The other reason is more personal.  A physical illness or disability can be hard to cope with.  It may be serious and life threatening, or it may be something that only adversely affects the quality of our lives.  In my case it is the latter … just too many birthdays.

When we seek medical attention, we can be told that there is no remedy, or that the available therapies will not improve things much.  We pray, asking God to heal us.  God can and does heal, but He can also tell us to live with it and to lean on Him for strength.  Don’t lose heart.  The following passages explain why:

(Please note that I have used italics to show direct quotes and different fonts to differentiate between the various translations.)

I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord:  I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a one was caught up to the third heaven.  And I know such a man—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows— how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.  Of such a one I will boast; yet of myself I will not boast, except in my infirmities.  For though I might desire to boast, I will not be a fool; for I will speak the truth. But I refrain, lest anyone should think of me above what he sees me to be or hears from me.

And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.  Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.  And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2Corinthians 12:1-10 NKJV) *

… I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord.  I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a man was caught up to the third heaven.  And I know how such a man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, God knows— was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak.  On behalf of such a man I will boast; but on my own behalf I will not boast, except in regard to my weaknesses.  For if I do wish to boast I will not be foolish, for I will be speaking the truth; but I refrain from this, so that no one will credit me with more than he sees in me or hears from me.

Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself!  Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me.  And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.  Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong. (2Corinthians 12:1-10 NASB) *

… I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord.  I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows.  And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows— was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell.  I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses.  Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say,  or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.  Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.  But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2Corinthians 12:1-10 NIV) *

I will reluctantly tell about visions and revelations from the Lord.  I was caught up to the third heaven fourteen years ago. Whether I was in my body or out of my body, I don’t know—only God knows.  Yes, only God knows whether I was in my body or outside my body. But I do know that I was caught up to paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell.

That experience is worth boasting about, but I’m not going to do it. I will boast only about my weaknesses.  If I wanted to boast, I would be no fool in doing so, because I would be telling the truth. But I won’t do it, because I don’t want anyone to give me credit beyond what they can see in my life or hear in my message,  even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.

Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away.  Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.  That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.                          ( 2Corinthians 12:1-10 NLT) *

Although he is speaking indirectly, most scholars agree that Paul was speaking of himself when he wrote this passage.  I am not a trained theologian, but that is what I think, also.  Most believe Paul’s thorn was some sort of physical ailment, perhaps his eyesight, although it is also possible that he was the victim of demonic torment (not possession).

God has answered my prayers over and over.  He has done it in ways that made it plain the answer came from Him.  I do not deserve it, but He has blessed me, sometimes changing the course of my life.  Certainly, I have no right to whine.  When I am weak, it lets His strength show through.

The Word says:

But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.  He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control. (Philippians 3:20-21 NIV) *

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.  Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.  (Philippians 4:6-7 NIV) *

  

* https://biblehub.com/

How does it Feel?

Fox News has been running security camera footage from a San Francisco beauty salon that shows Democratic Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, getting her hair done inside the salon without a face mask.  It was apparently a private appointment, and there were no other customers in the salon.  However, it is interesting that the Democratic nominee for president, Joe Biden, has said that he would make wearing face masks mandatory nationwide.

San Francisco has closed the beauty salons, only allowing treatments outside them.  Further, for the last six months big city Democrats have generally kept businesses closed to curb the spread of COVID-19.  Consequently, a lot of small businesses have gone bankrupt or entirely out of business.

The security footage was apparently leaked to the news because someone, perhaps the salon owner, was angry that Speaker Pelosi felt entitled to special treatment that is not available to the average citizen, and this while promoting policies that are putting people out of business and out of work.

The conservatives are yelling about hypocrisy, and the press has dubbed the episode “Salon Gate.”  George Orwell’s Animal Farm describes what happens when socialist utopias are attempted, “Some animals are more equal than others.”

Madam Speaker is terribly upset and angry.  She has apparently demanded an apology from the beauty salon.  Her supporters say she was set up.

A lyric from a Bob Dylan song asks, “How does it feel?”  Yes, Speaker Pelosi, how does it feel to get a taste of your own medicine?  For the last four years you have told every lie and played every dirty political trick you could think of on President Trump.  So, how does it feel?

The Blame Game

The noted Psychologist, Dr. Albert Ellis, was correct when he said something to the effect that the most difficult thing a person can do is to acknowledge they have a problem and then change their behavior.  You see, in order to change, we must understand what we are doing wrong and accept responsibility for it.  Then we can hold ourselves accountable to fix it.

The tendency to blame others is nowhere more obvious than in politics.  The Left says that President Trump is to blame for the Corona Virus crisis getting out of hand and the disruption it has caused.  President Trump rightfully points out that people like New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill DeBlasio have mishandled things so badly many preventable deaths have occurred.  President Trump has also correctly said that the world pandemic is China’s fault.

However, we need to remember that blaming someone does not fix things.  The Communist Chinese, our federal government, and state and local governments are groups of fallible people operating in uncertainty with incomplete and imperfect information.  Often, decisions were made on the advice of “experts” who did not have all the facts.  China failed to act to protect anyone but themselves.  When a situation demands action, and leaders fail to act, there are outcomes for which they are answerable.  When the situation demanded action, Americans made the best decisions they could in an undefined environment, and we are getting through it.  What we need now is for our leaders to set politics aside and work together to find better ways to cope.  There is no single answer to most problems.  Since they have multiple causes, they must be corrected at multiple levels of government, and people must work together.

There has been rioting, looting, burning, assaults, and killing in our cities all summer.  City and state governments have not stopped the violence.  Many say that the Democratic mayors and governors there are afraid to “alienate their base.”  President Trump seems to think that they are just too weak to do what is necessary when the going gets difficult.  Some believe they are letting the violence continue to damage President Trump’s chances for reelection.  President Trump has offered federal help to quell the unrest, but it has been refused.  The mayor of Portland blamed President Trump for the rioting, saying that it is due to his “divisive” policies.

The bottom line is that when the blame game the only game in town, nothing gets done.

“Don't find fault, find a remedy.”

(Henry Ford) *

The remedy is coming in November.  Reelect President Trump and give him a Republican majority in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.  Elect Republican governors and give them Republican majorities in the state legislatures. Elect Republican mayors, city councils, and county commissioners.  Thank you.

*  https://www.brainyquote.com/